Author: Andrew Schleger

It was another busy week last week!!

In Language Arts, we wrapped up symbolism in Romeo and Juliet by having a pot luck of all the foods that symbolize Love. We then presented this food to our classmates and described why they represented love. It was a nice way to end a unit and a fun way to celebrate the love of Romeo and Juliet.

In Science, we continued working on All Science Challenge units.

In Math, we split our week completing some lessons in our Saxon text book and then switching gears and having some fun. We began a Tetris tournament, using our spatial awareness, fine motor skills and reflexes, quick decision making and problem solving skills to try and come out on top. Unfortunately we are not quite finished yet, and the winner will be announced next week.

We had some very good work periods on our Heritage Fair projects. These are almost done and finishing touches are being made this week, as the fair is Thursday.

In music we prepared for our Coffee House at the Mansion. We had so much fun performing for friends and family. Everyone in the school did such a fantastic job!!

Another highlight of the week was competing at the Bayridge Road Race. We were resilient and persevered through this tough course of hills, and completed the race feeling accomplished and with a smile on our face. Thank you especially to Ms. Trish and Ms. Singh, and the other teachers who took us, because without them we wouldn’t be able to go to these events.

We completed our French Family Trees, and they are looking fantastic. It was fun to talk to our families and see the size of them in a visual format.

This coming week is another busy one as we have another road race and All Science Challenge to compete at. Check back in for more updates.

• The Grade 5/6 Class

The grade 5/6 class have had a very busy few months in the classroom.

One of the major things we completed was Science fair. We each completed a project on an area of scientific interest. This process took about 5 months to complete, including planning, making a hypothesis, experimenting, writing up procedures and conclusions, and creating the finished product. We learned a lot about time management, meeting deadlines, and seeing a project to completion from beginning to end. We took our projects to Queen’s University where we spoke about them with judges, the public and our peers. This was a tiring and long two days, but a very rewarding one as well.

We have also been preparing for All Science Challenge, focusing on different subjects like Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Engineering and Mathematics. We can’t wait to compete next week and use our tools and new knowledge to answers questions and compete in a design challenge against other students in the Kingston area.

Last week, we had the opportunity to compete in the Fibonacci and Pythagoras Math Contests. Although the questions were very different than what we are used to (they were all multiple choice), we all felt really good about the test when we finished as we had been prepped and practiced a lot.

In Social Studies, we have been learning about free and fair trade among countries in the world. We wrote essays on Millennium Development Goals based on a chosen country and profession.

In Language Arts we have been studying Romeo and Juliet and learning about symbolism. To do this, we created shields on different aspects of our lives including our personalities and represented these aspects using pictures rather than words.

In French, we have been creating family trees and learning to write paragraphs about how people are related within the family tree, using the verbs être and avoir. On our family trees, we used pictures to show who our family members are, along with the written component.

In Physical Education, we completed a unit of dance and looked at different dances around the world. This included Salsa, and Bollywood dancing. Using the new moves we learned, we created dances in groups and incorporated these two styles together.

Since Cross Country and Track and Field season is upon us, we have also been focusing a lot on running and building our endurance to be able to run long distances.

Last week, the school also came together and participated in Pitch In Kingston. We filled a number of garbage bags with trash found in and around the school as well as on our route to the park. We felt very proud of doing our part to help the environment. We also wore hockey jerseys to school to show our support for the Humboldt Broncos tragedy.

We are in the final stretch of the school year and have a busy next few months ahead of us. Stay tuned for what comes next!!!

-Grade 5/6

The week of the 11-16 of February was special for the 5/6’s because on Wednesday, February 14^th, we went to Calabogie Peaks to ski!

We took several cars for the 2 ½ hour trip and then got our ski gear on and flew through our tests. Everyone got a group lesson, going down the easiest trail with a ski instructor who would stop and teach us as we went. At 3:00, several people went home, but it was an overnight trip, so those staying enjoyed an hour of skiing without other school groups around. After skiing, a few students went to the pool and hot tub to relax, and we had a delicious taco dinner. We all went to our rooms and suites for a good night’s sleep before the next long day.

In the morning, there were a dozen options for breakfast with croissants, yogurt, granola, bagels, cereal…you name it, it was there. At 8:30 am sharp, everybody was waiting at the lifts, excited to go up for another day. For lunch, we had a sandwich bar with many options. After the refreshing feast, most kids went out to ski until 3:00. Then, the second wave of kids went home for the 4 day weekend.

Thank you to the parents who helped and the teachers who came along and organized this fantastic trip. Everyone had so much fun!!!